The Fw 56 was developed, in accordance with a request by the Reich Air Ministry for an advanced fighter trainer, by Kurt Tank, chief engineer with Focke-Wulf. It was also considered for possible use as a home defence fighter.
The first prototype flew for the first time in November 1933. A second prototype had some modifications made to the fuselage, and metal rather than wooden wings for flight testing. The third prototype, which flew in February 1934, reverted to the wooden wing and satisfied the technical designers.
After comparison flights in 1935 against its two competitors - the Arado Ar 76 and the Heinkel He 74 - the Air Ministry ordered production to begin. About 1,000 aircraft were built, mostly used by Germany, though numbers were used by Austria and Hungary. A few were sold for private use, for instance to Gerd Achgelis, who later founded the helicopter company Focke-Achgelis with Henrich Focke.
Ernst Udet, an advocate of the use of dive bombers, demonstrated[1] the second prototype - Fw 56 V2 - in this role, leading to Luftwaffe development of dive bombers.
DesignEdit
The Fw 56 was a parasol-wing monoplane aircraft with a fuselage of steel tube construction, clad in metal at the front, and canvas elsewhere. The wing was of wood, covered mostly in plywood, while the trailing edge was fabric-covered. The fixed conventional undercarriage consisted of two cantilever main legs and a tailskid. The aircraft was powered by an air-cooled Argus inline engine and intended as a single-seat advanced trainer for the fledgling pilot trainee to transition to from the Bucher primary trainer. In addition, for its secondary role as an emergency fighter as well as aiding aspiring fighter pilot trainees in conversion, it was fitted with 2 fixed cowl-mounted 7.9mm MG17 machine guns as well as a removable ventral rack for 3 10kg bombs (inert practice bombs or, in the event, light antipersonnel fragmentation bombs)
The Fw 56 was highly popular with pilots,[2] due to its aerobatic capabilities and fine handling.
VariantsEdit
Fw 56a : First prototype.
Fw 56 V2 : Second prototype.
Fw 56 V3 : Third prototype.
Fw 56A-0 : Three preproduction aircraft.
Fw 56A-1 : Single-seat advanced trainer. Main production version.
^Munson, K. Fighters Between the Wars 1919-39 1977 p.144 ISBN071370750X
^Munson, K. Fighters Between the Wars 1919-39 1977 p.144 ISBN071370750X
^"Spanish Civil War Aircraft". Retrieved 2011-06-14.
^Nowarra, Heinz J. (1993). Die Deutsche Luftrüstung 1933-1945 : Band 2 Flugzeugtypen Erla-Heinkel. Vol. 2 (1st ed.). Switzerland: Bernard & Graefe Verlag. pp. 57–59 & 264–265. ISBN3-7637-5466-0.
External linksEdit
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Focke-Wulf Fw 56.
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This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Focke Wulf Fw 56 Stosser news newspapers books scholar JSTOR January 2016 Learn how and when to remove this template message The Focke Wulf Fw 56 Stosser German goshawk was a single engine parasol monoplane advanced trainer built in the 1930s in Germany Fw 56Focke Wulf Fw 56Role Advanced TrainerManufacturer Focke WulfFirst flight November 1933Primary user LuftwaffeNumber built 1000Developed into Focke Wulf Fw 159Focke Wulf Fw 56 of the Spanish Republican Air Force training facility at El Carmoli in 1937 Contents 1 Development 2 Design 3 Variants 4 Operators 5 Specifications Fw 56A 1 6 See also 7 References 8 External linksDevelopment EditThe Fw 56 was developed in accordance with a request by the Reich Air Ministry for an advanced fighter trainer by Kurt Tank chief engineer with Focke Wulf It was also considered for possible use as a home defence fighter The first prototype flew for the first time in November 1933 A second prototype had some modifications made to the fuselage and metal rather than wooden wings for flight testing The third prototype which flew in February 1934 reverted to the wooden wing and satisfied the technical designers After comparison flights in 1935 against its two competitors the Arado Ar 76 and the Heinkel He 74 the Air Ministry ordered production to begin About 1 000 aircraft were built mostly used by Germany though numbers were used by Austria and Hungary A few were sold for private use for instance to Gerd Achgelis who later founded the helicopter company Focke Achgelis with Henrich Focke Ernst Udet an advocate of the use of dive bombers demonstrated 1 the second prototype Fw 56 V2 in this role leading to Luftwaffe development of dive bombers Design EditThe Fw 56 was a parasol wing monoplane aircraft with a fuselage of steel tube construction clad in metal at the front and canvas elsewhere The wing was of wood covered mostly in plywood while the trailing edge was fabric covered The fixed conventional undercarriage consisted of two cantilever main legs and a tailskid The aircraft was powered by an air cooled Argus inline engine and intended as a single seat advanced trainer for the fledgling pilot trainee to transition to from the Bucher primary trainer In addition for its secondary role as an emergency fighter as well as aiding aspiring fighter pilot trainees in conversion it was fitted with 2 fixed cowl mounted 7 9mm MG17 machine guns as well as a removable ventral rack for 3 10kg bombs inert practice bombs or in the event light antipersonnel fragmentation bombs The Fw 56 was highly popular with pilots 2 due to its aerobatic capabilities and fine handling Variants EditFw 56a First prototype Fw 56 V2 Second prototype Fw 56 V3 Third prototype Fw 56A 0 Three preproduction aircraft Fw 56A 1 Single seat advanced trainer Main production version Operators Edit AustriaAustrian Air Force 1927 1938 BoliviaBolivian Air Force 1936 ex D IBAE BulgariaBulgarian Air Force GermanyLuftwaffe HungaryRoyal Hungarian Air Force NetherlandsRoyal Netherlands Air Force RomaniaRoyal Romanian Air Force Spanish RepublicSpanish Republican Air Force one of the few German made planes in the loyalist air force 3 SpainSpanish Air ForceSpecifications Fw 56A 1 Edit Focke Wulf Fw 56Data from Die Deutsche Luftrustung 1933 1945 4 General characteristicsCrew one Length 7 6 m 24 ft 11 in Wingspan 10 5 m 34 ft 5 in Height 2 6 m 8 ft 6 in Wing area 14 m2 150 sq ft Empty weight 755 kg 1 664 lb Gross weight 985 kg 2 172 lb Powerplant 1 Argus As 10C inverted V 8 air cooled piston engine 176 5 kW 236 7 hp converted from PS Performance Maximum speed 278 km h 173 mph 150 kn at sea level Cruise speed 255 km h 158 mph 138 kn Landing speed 90 km h 56 mph Range 385 km 239 mi 208 nmi Service ceiling 6 200 m 20 300 ft Rate of climb 8 42 m s 1 657 ft min Time to altitude 1 000 m 3 281 ft in 2 2 minutesArmament Guns 2 7 92 mm 312 in MG 17 machine guns Bombs 3 x 10kg bombs on external ventral rackSee also EditRelated development Focke Wulf Fw 159Aircraft of comparable role configuration and era Arado Ar 76 Heinkel He 74Related lists List of military aircraft of Germany List of aircraft of the Spanish Republican Air ForceReferences Edit Munson K Fighters Between the Wars 1919 39 1977 p 144 ISBN 071370750X Munson K Fighters Between the Wars 1919 39 1977 p 144 ISBN 071370750X Spanish Civil War Aircraft Retrieved 2011 06 14 Nowarra Heinz J 1993 Die Deutsche Luftrustung 1933 1945 Band 2 Flugzeugtypen Erla Heinkel Vol 2 1st ed Switzerland Bernard amp Graefe Verlag pp 57 59 amp 264 265 ISBN 3 7637 5466 0 External links Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to Focke Wulf Fw 56 https web archive org web 20080401114708 http aviationtrivia info Focke Wulf FW 56 Stosser php http www warbirdsresourcegroup org LRG fw56 html https web archive org web 20061016135052 http www luftfahrtmuseum com htmi itf fw56 htm Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Focke Wulf Fw 56 Stosser amp oldid 1125093640, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
